Under the Mask
by hannsta
Summary: Derek and Casey never used to see eye-to-eye on ANYTHING. But will one masquerade party change all that?
1. Bathroom Antics

**Okay guys, this is my first fanfic ever, so be nice! Hahah. So, I know that this first chapter isn't the best, but I promise that it gets better. So review! Constructive criticism is appreciated (:**

**Under the Mask**

**Chapter 1: Bathroom Antics**

"Jerk," Casey muttered under her breath as she pounded on the bathroom door furiously. Derek was hogging the shower—again—and she was already behind schedule. Casey usually woke up at six and was able to use the bathroom before her evil stepbrother, but she hit the snooze button nine times and ended up waking forty-five minutes later. Not a good way to start a Monday. "Derek, get out! I'm gonna be late for that chemistry test!"

_Twenty minutes later,_ the door opened and Casey almost fell inside. She looked up to see none other than Derek smirking down at her. Casey faintly heard, "All yours, sis," as she forced her way inside. "Finally," she muttered, as she hopped into the shower and let the cool water trickle down her face. Of course, Derek had taken all the hot water. It didn't matter, because all Casey wanted to do was get a little peace and quiet. The shower seemed like the only place to do this, since Derek seemed to make sure that he went everywhere that she did. Casey rolled her eyes thinking about her annoying stepbrother's actions, and then proceeded to wash her hair.

Derek was not a morning person. At all. After he emerged from the bathroom, making sure to take extra time doing his hair to annoy Casey, he stumbled down the stairs and into the kitchen. There sat his brother Edwin, and his other stepsister, Lizzie, eating breakfast and quietly conversing with each other. Derek frowned as he noticed Ed and Lizzie stop talking as soon as he walked in the room. "Whatcha talking about?" He asked, glaring at the two. "Nothing!" was the reply, and they continued to eat their cereal. Derek usually made it his business to know exactly what was going on in his house, but he didn't push the matter. Edwin and Lizzie had grown close, and Derek figured that they were just talking about something from school. If it was anything else, Derek decided that he really didn't want to know. He grabbed _his_ cereal from the cupboard, and then heard something from above. "Was that the water just turning on?" he asked the twosome. "Probably. I think Casey's in the shower," replied Lizzie, and thought nothing of it. Neither Lizzie nor Edwin noticed the gleam in Derek's eye, the same gleam that appeared whenever he thought of an awesome prank. Derek ran down the stairs just as George and Nora were coming up. Nora asked Edwin what was going on, to which he calmly replied, "Teenagers." A few seconds later, Derek dashed up the stairs and waited.

"DEREK!"

George and Nora sighed before going to dress Marti. Their two oldest children were known for teasing each other, Derek more often than Casey. Derek began to laugh, and Edwin stated, "Dude, she sounds really mad." Lizzie agreed, and then sighed, "What did you do this time?" Derek didn't have to answer. Casey came running down the stairs, shampoo still in her hair, and a towel wrapped around her body. Derek nearly doubled over with laughter at this sight, and Casey simply glared at him. "Derek, I do not have time for this! You know that we have that test today and I need to get to school early to study with Emily! Go turn the water back on. _Now._"

"Or what?" he replied, a devilish look in his eye.

With that, she simply pulled some of the sudsy shampoo from her hair and flicked it in his face. Casey smiled as Derek stood there, astonished. Casey hardly ever did anything back to him. She usually just glared and ran off in a huff. He said, "You are going to pay," and walked down the stairs to the basement. As he left, Casey held the same look of astonishment that Derek held a few seconds ago. The only reason Derek would go downstairs was to turn the water back on. Or turn something else off, but Casey hoped that it was the first reason. Since when did Derek listen to her? Seeing her younger siblings staring at her, she quickly closed her mouth and ran up to the bathroom. Edwin and Lizzie looked at each other and shrugged.

_Teenagers._


	2. Flirting and Failing

**Aww, thanks for the lovely reviews! You guys are so awesome (:  
Anyway, here's chapter two! Hope you like it!**

**Chapter 2: Flirting and Failing**

Derek impatiently honked the horn three more times. He hated waiting for Casey to get ready before he could go to school. Five minutes later, she slipped into the passenger seat and Derek started the car. The ten minute drive to their school across town was dead silent, as usual. Derek sighed and turned on the radio. Casey looked up from her chemistry notes to glare at Derek. When he didn't respond, she turned off the radio and went back to studying.

Derek turned toward her, surprised that she would notice anything that didn't have the periodic table plastered on it. He reached over and turned the stereo back on. Casey grumbled and turned it back off. They repeated this process for a while, but it quickly ended when it was Casey's turn to switch the radio off. She reached over to turn off the blasting music, when Derek grabbed her hand. When he didn't let go, her eyes got wide and she turned to look at him. He smirked back at her and then turned to the road, not letting go of her hand. They sat like that for a while, and then Casey tried to pull away. Derek's firm grip on her hand only tightened as she struggled to get free. After a while, the thrashing movements of her hand stopped, and Derek eased his grip. He turned to look at her, to see her staring at their intertwined hands, smiling. Derek genuinely smiled and turned to focus his attention on the road.

After a few minutes, Casey felt the car ease to a gentle stop. She had to hand it to Derek, even though it had taken him five tries to get his driver's license, he wasn't that bad. She tried to get out of the car, only to remember the predicament her left hand was in. Casey turned to Derek, to see him staring at her. He then moved his vision to their hands, and she felt him tracing small circles on her palm with his thumb. Casey let out a sigh. Derek's gaze shot right up to her eyes, and he quickly released her hand. She smiled at him, and then exited the car and ran toward the school entrance to meet Emily. Derek rolled his eyes. They often engaged in playful flirting like this, but _never_ on test day. Casey was always too worried about the tests coming up to focus on anything else. He had forgotten. Derek sighed and then walked into the school, only to be attacked by half of the female population.

The minute Derek walked through the doors, it seemed like every girl was all over him. He somehow managed to push the girls away and walk over to his hockey buddies. "Did you see how many girls ran up to me? That was insane," Derek said. His best friend, Sam, turned and said, "Dude, it's you. I thought you'd be used to this by now." Derek rolled his eyes and said, "That is true, Sammy boy. But it seems like more than the usual were there today. Is something going on?" Another of Derek's friends, Ralph, nodded his head and said, "Yeah dude. There's gonna be some masquerade dance this weekend." "Masquerade? Ralph, I didn't think that you were capable of using a word that big!" Derek stated, getting a laugh from his friends. It was good to be the king.

Casey ran in the doors and was met with over a hundred screaming girls. "Is he here yet?" Casey looked confused. "Is _who_ here?" she replied. "Derek, of course!" was the answer. She should have known. "Did he drive you here? Why didn't he walk in with you? OH MY GOD, THERE HE IS!"

Casey was about to be trampled by all the girls now running toward Derek, when she was forcefully pulled out of the way. She turned to thank her savior, and was met with her best friend. "Gosh, thanks Em. I thought I was gonna die in there!" she said with a smile. Emily smiled back and said, "No problem. Heck, if it wasn't for Sheldon, _I_ would be in that mess of girls!" Casey smiled at that. She remembered when Emily was another Derek-obsessed fan, but now that she was dating Sheldon Schlepper, she didn't crush on Derek like every other female in the school. "So Em, what is going on? I mean, I know that there are usually a million girls fawning over Derek 24/7, but this seems like more than the usual number. Is something coming up?" "You got it," Emily replied. "A masquerade dance this Friday. It's gonna be the last dance of the year, except for prom, of course. One of the last chances for a lucky girl to have her dreams of going to a dance with Derek to come true." Casey rolled her eyes at this. What was so great about Derek, anyway? "Whatever, let's just get to studying. I am not going to do badly on this test!" Casey said. Emily replied, "Yeah, I really need your help, Casey. I need to get at least a 'B' or I'm screwed." Casey smiled and the two got down to work.

An hour and a half later, students emerged from the science classroom, looking beaten. Casey and Emily were no different, despite their extra study session that morning. "I appreciate the help Casey, but I still think I bombed," Emily said. "I know exactly what you mean," Casey replied. "The periodic table killed me." Emily scrunched her face as she looked over at her friend. "Really? I thought you were going to study that on your way to school." Casey sighed. "I was, but I got a little… preoccupied," she stated, glancing at Derek from across the hall. Emily noticed and asked, "Was Derek distracting you again?" "You could say that," was Casey's shy reply as she dashed down the hall for English.


	3. The King Becomes the Loser

**Wow, thanks for the reviews guys! You rock (:  
Eh, I'm kind of disappointed with this chapter, because it is EXTREMELY short. Only 595 words, gah. I apologize. I'm almost done with the next one though, so it will be up soon!**

**Chapter 3: The King Becomes the Loser**

After two boring class periods in a row, Derek was ready for lunch. He walked through the double doors and was, yet again, met with one hundred obsessed girls. Casey and Emily watched this display from the lunch line. They quickly paid for their food and went to sit down at an empty table. Casey rolled her eyes at Derek, who was now charming the crowd of stupid blondes. "How disgusting," she said, while staring down her stepbrother. "I know," replied Emily. "I hate meatloaf day." Casey snapped back and looking confused, asked, "Wait, what? No Em, not the food. Although, it is kind of gross. But that's not what we're talking about here! I meant that _Derek_ was disgusting. Look at him over there, flirting with all those women. What a pig." Emily rolled her eyes and replied, "Oh. Yeah, Derek is a pig. But come on. He's _Derek_. You should know this about him by now." Casey sighed. "Oh, I guess you're right, Em. Let's just eat our…" Casey looked down at the mess on her tray. "Uh, nevermind. Tell me more about this dance!" Emily smiled and the two gossiped about anything and everything. They made plans to go shopping to find dresses for the dance Thursday night.

Derek eventually found his way to the lunch line, after picking up a few phone numbers of course. He met up with Sam at the register, and the two became engulfed in a conversation about their upcoming game before they sat down. Derek was so involved in their talk that he didn't notice where they had sat down. He looked up and saw… Casey. Great. He would never let Sam choose their table again. Derek tried to get Sam to pick up where they left off in their conversation, but he was too busy staring into Casey's eyes. Ugh. Derek hated that Sam had a stupid little crush on his stepsister. Being Derek's best friend, Sam could probably get any girl in the school. So why would he choose the only one that Derek had a problem with him dating? Oh well. He turned to start conversing with Emily, but found her talking with her boyfriend. How did Derek become the loser at this table?

He forced his way into Sam and Casey's conversation, only to hear them talking about the chemistry test. Could Derek have lamer friends!? Who in their right mind would talk about _school_? Oh well. He didn't want to be left out, so he jumped in. Casey looked surprised at his sudden desire to join her conversation, while Sam looked a little annoyed. The three talked about what was going on later that week, and then Casey got up to leave. Sam yelled, "I'll call you later!" after her, and she smiled and walked out the door.

As soon as she left, Sam turned to look at Derek. Anger flashed in his eyes, as he proceeded to tell Derek off. "Dude, I know that you're extremely immature when it comes to Casey, but she and I are getting along great and it might turn into something that you're just gonna have to deal with. I like her, and she likes me, so enough with this whole overprotective thing. Get over it." When Derek didn't have anything else to say, Sam got up and left. Emily and Sheldon witnessed this little "fight", and quickly got up, muttering something about math homework. Derek was left alone, and was once again the loser of the table.


	4. Apologies on the Ice

**Aw guys, your reviews are awesome. Hopefully you're happy that this chapter is longer than the last! And I think that it's better, too.  
Coming up, I'm gonna need the name of one really bad restaurant and one AMAZING restaurant. And even though I love food, I just can't seem to think of any that will fit in my story.  
Help please!  
****  
Now that's over with, enjoy chapter four!**

**Chapter 4: Apologies on the Ice**

The final bell rang and Casey was eager to get home and begin planning her outfit for the dance Friday night. She walked out to Derek's beat-up car and waited for him to exit the building. A few minutes later, Sheldon and Emily drove by in the "Schlepper Mobile." It was a dorky name, but the black SUV was way nicer than Derek's. Casey waved at the two of them as they pulled into a space next to Derek's car. "Want a ride, Casey?" she heard her best friend say from the passenger side. "I so would, but Derek would probably wonder where I ran off to. I'll just wait for him. Thanks anyway!" she replied. "Okay, see you tomorrow!" Emily shouted. Casey heard Sheldon yell, "Later, gator!" as he raced off. Casey rolled her eyes and smiled, happy that Emily had found a good boyfriend, no matter how weird he was.

Ten minutes later, Casey was still waiting. "_Maybe I should have gone with Emily. I wonder what's keeping Derek so long…"_ She would have figured that a girl would be the culprit for her stepbrother's absence, but he usually had the decency to find some way to tell her when he was going to be out late. Another ten minutes later, Casey decided that there was no use of just sitting out in the sun. She went to find Derek to see if he could at least give her the keys. When she walked inside, she saw the hockey team in their jerseys ready to get on the ice. _"I thought they didn't have hockey practice today…"_ Casey thought and ran to catch up with Derek.

"Casey? Why are you still here?" he asked, surprised. "Waiting for you!" she replied. "I thought you said that you didn't have practice today." Derek could see that she was upset and extremely uncomfortable. He instantly felt bad for making her sit in the sun and wait for him. "We didn't," he said. "But someone trashed the locker room and coach knows that it was one of us. So he's making us work it off." Casey responded, asking "Well, how long is this going to last?" "I honestly don't know. As long as it takes for us to 'learn our lesson', I guess. I don't know. Coach is really mad, so he'll probably make us stay forever." Casey pouted, so Derek continued, "I'm really sorry, Case. I forgot to let you know." He laughed at the look of shock on her face from his apology, but she quickly recovered. "Oh, don't worry about it, Derek. It's okay. I can just walk home." Derek shook his head, saying, "No way, Case. It's way too hot out there. Just stay here and I'll drive you home when we're done." She looked hesitant, so he persisted. "Look, it's actually kind of peaceful here. You could probably focus on homework or read or something. I'll let you borrow my laptop," he said, remembering that he broke hers a few weeks ago in a "prank gone wrong." Casey smiled at this, "Okay, Derek. I'll stay. But I've gotta ask, why are you being so nice to me?" Derek put on his trademark smirk, "I don't want to get in trouble if you die on the way home from heat exhaustion," and skated off. Casey giggled, and then went to go find a place to sit.

Hockey practice wasn't as boring to sit through as Casey had thought. She tried to focus on homework, but always found her gaze shifting to the ice. She convinced herself that it was because she wanted to see Sam in action, but that wasn't true. Casey really just wanted to watch Derek glide around. He looked so _graceful_ skating around with the puck, which was a word that she thought she would never use to describe Derek. It just seemed that he was at home, in his element. Derek was always bragging about how he was the best player on the team, and now Casey could see why. She would have no idea what to do on the ice, with the puck flying toward her and ten huge guys following it. But Derek seemed to have an answer for every predicament the game put him in, and he executed his plan without flaw. He was… perfect. That was the only way to describe it. As she watched Derek glide on the ice, she lost track of time. Soon enough, the players were exiting the rink, Derek being the last to leave. Casey continued to stare at that ice, lost in thought, when someone came to tap her on the shoulder.

She snapped out of her trance quickly, and turned to look up at Derek. "What?" she asked, staring into his big brown eyes with confusion. Derek matched her perplexed look, saying, "Uh, we're done…" Casey turned away from Derek's eyes to glance down at the ice once again. He continued, saying, "Sorry it took so long. I guess that coach was more upset about the locker room than we thought." Casey looked up at Derek once again. "So long? What time is it?" Derek replied, "It's eight, Case. Are you okay?" Casey's eyes widened at the mention of the time. "Uh, yeah," she replied. "Sorry. Um, is it really eight?" "Yeah," Derek said, laughing. "I can't believe you made it that long. Anyway, we missed dinner. A bunch of the guys are going out to get something to eat. Do you want to go with them?" Casey smiled. "Sure," she replied. "I'd love it. Going out to dinner with you has got to be better than leftovers anyway." Derek agreed, and went to go get changed. Casey packed up her things. _"Great,"_ she thought. _"Five hours of watching Derek and zero hours of getting homework done."_


	5. Out to Eat

**YES! LONGEST CHAPTER YET! Almost 1500 words! That's right, be proud. (:  
Thanks for the reviews! I love every one of 'em!  
Eh, so I know that I asked for a really bad restaurant last time, but I really couldn't think of any. I love food too much. So, I just went a slightly different direction... And by "different direction" I mean that I changed one line. Oh well (:  
Anyway, there are a couple of paragraphs towards the end that I'm not so sure I love, but it seems to work so I'll just have to see what you guys think!  
I really hope you enjoy this chapter!**

**Chapter 5: Out to Eat**

Derek emerged from the locker room, his hair wet and smelling fresh. Casey met up with him at the door and the two began to walk out to Derek's car. "So," he began, "the guys are going to eat at Ihop, but I really don't feel like pancakes. Do you mind going somewhere else?" Casey shook her head "no," and got into the car. Derek threw his hockey gear in the back seat and climbed into the driver's side, fishing for the keys. Once he found them, he started up the car and asked, "So, where to?" Casey smiled and responded with "It doesn't matter to me. You choose." Derek opened his mouth to respond, but was interrupted when a cry of "VENTURI!" erupted throughout the parking lot.

Derek turned his head to see Ralph parked in the spot next to him, with the rest of the hockey team close by. "What?" Derek asked, clearly annoyed. Ralph didn't sense the irritation in his friend's voice, and asked, "You coming with us?" "Nah, man," Derek replied. "Case and I are going somewhere else." "Whatever, dude!" Ralph shouted as he drove off, with his teammates following closely behind. Derek turned back to Casey to finish their conversation, when he was interrupted, yet again, with a "Venturi!" Derek rolled his eyes and looked back to his left, this time to find Sam as the source of the noise.

"What now, Sam? No, we're not going to dinner with the team. Have fun." Derek said, thinking that the conversation was over. To his misfortune, it was not. "I know," was the reply from his friend. "But I'd rather go with you guys anyway. Where are you two headed?"

Derek's eyes bulged out of his head with panic. He didn't want Sam to come eat with the two of them. As Derek's mind was racing to come up with an excuse, he convinced himself that the only reason he didn't want Sam eating with them was because he didn't want the entire night to turn into a love-fest starring his stepsister and his best friend. But deep down, Derek knew that was a lie. He really just wanted to spend some time with Casey. Ever since she moved in, he had always found something endearing about her, and he wanted to get to know her more. But, with a house full of scheming kids and dorky parents, Derek knew that "alone time" could never happen with the two of them.

"Uh, Derek?" Hearing his friend's voice, Derek snapped out of his thoughts, realizing that he hadn't given an answer to Sam in over two minutes. "Um, I don't know where we're going, but I guess you could come," Derek heard himself saying. He knew that if he didn't invite Sam along, Casey would figure out that something was going on and that his relationship with Sam would be on even more strained. "I think we're just gonna head home," Derek heard coming from the gorgeous mouth to his right. He turned to look at Casey, to see her staring back at him with a look of understanding. She continued, "I've still got a lot of homework to do and Mom made tuna casserole for dinner. It's my favorite." "Y-Yeah," Derek stammered, confused as to why Casey was lying to Sam. "I'll just talk to you later, Sammy boy." Sam shrugged. "Uh, okay I guess. See you guys later."

Derek turned back to Casey. "I thought you were _in love_ with Sam. Why wouldn't you want the man of your dreams to come eat with us?" he asked, with a bitter tone in his voice. "I know you don't want him to," she replied. "It seems like you guys have been on really thin ice lately, and I didn't want anything to happen that would make it worse. Plus," Casey began sheepishly. "I heard about your fight in the cafeteria today. What was up with that?" Derek sighed, "It's nothing. I don't want to talk about it." And with that, they drove off.

The drive down to wherever Derek was going was silent. It seemed like the two could never talk in a moving vehicle. Casey looked out the window and sighed. A few moments later, the car stopped in front of a restaurant. Casey glanced up to see where Derek had taken her, and came face-to-face with a giant apple. Casey smiled, "_Applebee's."_ She should have known. Derek loved the steak here, and he knew that she loved chicken alfredo. He was about to exit the car, when he felt her eyes on him. He turned to look at her, and she said, "Derek, I didn't bring enough money for this." Derek smiled. "It's okay," he replied. "My treat. You deserve it for waiting at my boring practice for five whole hours." Casey smiled, and let Derek open the car door for her to get out. _"Who knew Derek could be such a gentleman?"_ The two walked inside, eager to spend the night together.

After half an hour of waiting, a waitress was called to the kitchen. "Here you go," the chef told her. "Order's ready for table six." The waitress accepted the dishes and walked into the dining area. She looked around and found her goal: table six, the table in the back corner that seemed to be secluded from everything else going on. The waitress smiled to herself. The two teenagers seemed to be the perfect candidates to sit at "the romance table." The couple didn't seem to notice the waitress quietly placing food in front of them, because they were too involved with each other. _"Ah, young love,"_ the waitress thought, and quickly left without a sound. "Uh, excuse me?" erupted throughout the restaurant, and the teens snapped out of their trance and noticed the food in front of them. They awkwardly smiled and began to chow down, their eyes never leaving the other's. The waitress sighed and went over to find out the source of the noise. "Is there a problem, sir?"

"Uh, yes. We've been waiting for almost an hour and I'm starving here," Derek replied. Casey shook her head, embarrassed at Derek's outburst. "Derek, chill. It's really busy for a Monday. Just calm down," she stated. The waitress apologized and ran to the kitchen. Derek muttered to himself about bad service, while Casey shifted her gaze to look at the two teens in the back. She sighed, thinking about how much she wanted to be in a cute, loving relationship. _"I'll meet someone soon,"_ she assured herself. A second later, the waitress appeared again with their food. "Finally!" Derek stated. Casey rolled her eyes. _"Men and their meat,"_ she thought, and gave the waitress a sympathetic look. The waitress apologized again and ran off to another table. Casey looked over at Derek to find him staring sheepishly back at her. "That was rude, wasn't it?" he asked, ready for her to yell at him. Casey giggled and said, "Kinda. But it's okay, I can forgive you. Now shut up and eat your steak." Derek pretended to look offended and said, "Casey, I didn't know you were capable of saying such hurtful things!" She tried to glare back at him, but ended up laughing.

The waitress smiled as she heard another fit of giggles erupting from the table of the two teenagers. Surprisingly, the happy laughter came from the mouth of the same boy who yelled at her a couple hours ago.

**Oh snap, I bet that I had most of you guys thinking that Derek and Casey were the couple at the "romantic table." But you were wrong! I can't have too much Dasey action right now, but don't worry! There are tons of Dasey moments to come!  
We actually have a secluded table like that in the Applebee's in my town, true story. So, I figured that I'd write about it. Anyway, reviews are nice (:**


	6. Surprises From the Stepbrother

**Hey again! Thanks for all the awesome reviews! I love you guys.  
And I gotta give a special shout-out to Kenzie123456! Thanks for the writing tips (: I put those to use in this chapter!  
And, this chapter is another short one. I'm sorry )': The next few should be longer, I promise!**

**Chapter 6: Surprises from the Stepbrother**

Casey woke up the next morning with a smile on her face, remembering her dinner with Derek the night before. After her "shut up" comment, the two had gotten along surprisingly well. They talked about anything and everything, ranging from their history homework to stories about their _old_ lives, before George married Nora. Amazingly, Casey found herself really getting into Derek's rants about hockey, and he didn't mind when she went on about her unfair grade on her English presentation. It seemed as though the two had been best friends for years, the way their conversations flowed so easily from one topic to the next. In fact, after last night, Casey was sure that she could consider Derek to be one of her best friends.

She stayed in bed for an extra twenty minutes, just thinking about how much fun she had with the person she thought that she was least able to tolerate. But Casey knew that as soon as she got up, things would be back to normal. Since she slept in again, Derek would take the shower first and she would be late getting to school. They would probably tease each other at breakfast, and not talk on the long ride to school. Casey sighed as she got up, and began to choose her outfit for the day. She emerged from her bedroom to find Derek standing there, hair wet and completely dressed.

Casey couldn't hide the look of shock on her face as she stared at an astonishing sight. _"Derek showered already!?"_ Derek chuckled at her surprise, and told her that he had gotten up early to take a quick shower and that the bathroom was all hers. Before she could respond, Derek smiled and left.

The drive to school that Tuesday morning was unlike any other. Casey and Derek actually _talked_! They talked about what was going on at school that day, their crazy family, and the possibility of pooling their money together for a new car. They talked like they did at dinner Monday night, without interruption or awkward silences. Before they pulled into the school parking lot, Derek informed Casey that he had plans to hang out with some hockey buddies right after school. "But I can cancel if you need me to take you home or something, it's not a big deal," he rushed.

Casey smiled and replied, "It's okay, Derek. I can just get a ride from Emily." With that, he nodded, and the two walked into school and went their separate ways.

The next few days of school went by quickly for both Derek and Casey. There were no important history tests, no big English projects, no excruciating math homework… the days seemed to fly by. Before either of them knew it, the final bell rang on a Thursday afternoon, the same Thursday that Casey was to go shopping with Emily and the Thursday that Derek needed to find a date for the dance the next night.

Derek and Casey had grown a little closer over the last couple of days, but they still got on each other's nerves every once in a while. Okay, every day. Almost every night at the McDonald-Venturi household you could hear a scream of "DEREK!" and the maniacal laughter of a teenage boy, but not nearly as often as usual. The entire family thought it was great that the two only annoyed each other once or twice every day, instead of every two minutes.

Even though they were becoming best friends, Derek wasn't going to ask Casey to the dance. He didn't know why that thought kept popping into his mind. She was his stepsister—isn't that wrong? Plus, it was _Casey._ Derek quickly pushed the thoughts aside as he walked up to a group of cheerleaders.

**I thought about writing about each day instead of just cutting to Thursday, but I was just so excited to write about the masquerade dance that I couldn't wait any longer! So, if you guys want me to write about Tuesday and Wednesday, I guess that I could find some way to edit the story or something. But for now, you're just gonna have to deal! Just kidding. Um, I appreciate that you guys are actually reading this! Hah.**


	7. Dates and Dresses

**Thanks for the awesome reviews guys! You rock my world (:  
Anyway, I know that you're all excited for the masquerade dance, but I'm gonna put that off for at least a couple more chapters. Gotta build more suspense (;  
This dance is getting a lot of hype, so I hope that I don't disappoint anyone...****  
I also hope that I don't confuse most of you with the description of Casey's dress. I kind of rambled on about that for a few paragraphs... but oh well!  
I kind of tried to copy it off of London Tipton's dress from _The Suite Life of Zack and Cody_. I'm not quite sure which episode it was exactly, but it was the one with the masquerade ball (go figure...) where she was crushin' on Todd St. Mark. Remember? Yeah. So, if it seems kind of familiar, that's why.  
And, my family is going on vacation on July 10th, so I am desperately trying to finish this story before then, but it's not lookin so good right now... I'll try, but if I can't get it done, then I'll unfortunately have to put this story on hiatus until I get back. But don't worry, I'll be writing the whole time I'm there!  
So, I'll end this rambling author's note and say: ENJOY THE CHAPTER!**

**Chapter 7: Dates and Dresses**

Casey met up with Emily right after school. The girls let out a small shriek as they ran out to the parking lot toward the "Schlepper Mobile." Finally, SHOPPING DAY! Casey paused as she began to open the passenger door. "Em, are you sure that it's okay to take Sheldon's car? I mean, what if he needs it for something?" she asked.

"Casey, it's okay. Sheldon's got class president conferences all night. We can take his car as long as we come pick him up once the meeting is over." Emily reassured. Casey smiled and the two were off to the mall.

"Hey ladies," Derek said suavely as he leaned against the wall next to the group of cheerleaders. "Hey Derek," they cooed back. A bunch of the girls turned red and a few exploded in giggles as Derek smirked back at them. "Any of you got a date for the dance tomorrow?" A few of the girls looked depressed as they nodded their heads "yes," while a few blushed as they replied "no." He quickly looked around at the group without dates, and his eyes landed on the captain.

"Amy," Derek started. "Accompany me tomorrow night."

Amy smiled, "Sorry Derek. I've got a boyfriend."

He could hear the hesitancy in her voice, and replied with, "I don't care."

Amy blushed and barely let out an, "Okay" as she rushed off to a boy across the hall. Derek winced as he heard the cheerleader break up with some guy named Max. But he instantly let go of his grief when Amy turned to wink at him before walking off.

Casey's cell phone rang right as Emily pushed her into a dressing room. Casey threw the dresses in her arms to the ground before answering her phone. "Hello?"

"Where are you?" came the reply.

Casey's brows furrowed. "Derek?"

"Duh. Who else would it be? Where are you?"

"Uh, at the mall… Why?"

"What? Why are you at the mall? Don't you need a ride home?"

"Derek, I told you that I was going shopping with Emily today. I obviously don't need you to drive me home…"

After a pause, "Oh, right," was heard on the other line. "Well, bye," Derek said before hanging up.

Casey sighed as she began to try on a short purple dress Emily picked out for her. She could have sworn she heard disappointment in Derek's voice when he hung up. She quickly pushed Derek's confusing behavior out of her mind and thought about his annoying behaviors instead. Why was it so hard for Derek to listen to her? She had specifically told him that she would be out with Emily that afternoon. _"Oh well," _Casey thought as she zipped up her dress and walked out for her friend's approval.

"Ew, no," was the response. Casey put on a mock-hurt face as Emily continued. "Sorry Case, but dark violet is not for you. That's my bad. Uh, go try on the red one!" Five dresses later, Casey still hadn't found one that Emily would approve of.

The two walked into another dress shop, and couldn't find anything. Casey's hope of finding the perfect dress was crushed, until she saw it: _THE DRESS. _Casey let a gasp release from her lips, and Emily rushed up beside her and saw _it_ as well. Emily's eyes lit up as she pressured Casey to go try it on. "Casey, it is SO perfect for you!" All Casey could do was nod. She grabbed the dress off the rack and ran to the changing room.

After triple-checking her reflection in the mirror, Casey knew that this dress was the one. Hopefully Emily liked it just as much as she did. Casey took a deep breath and opened the dressing room door only to be met with a high-pitched shriek from her best friend. "OH MY GOSH! CASEY! You look amazing! That is SO the dress for you!" Emily screamed. Casey nodded, a little embarrassed by her friend's actions, but silently screaming the same thing. The dress was absolutely gorgeous.

It was a deep green color that matched Casey's complexion perfectly. The green was accented with black trim on the top, which made it look like a fancy corset. There were four strips of black ribbon going down the front of the corset, and three bows running right down the middle. At the end of the corset began the thick, flowing tulle bottom. The tulle was as deep of green as the corset was, and the entire dress was beautiful. It looked like something that was made in the Renaissance Period. Casey liked thinking of it like that, it made it seem like the dress came right out of _Romeo and Juliet_. Casey realized that she had been examining her reflection in the mirror for about five minutes, and snapped back to hear her friend still complementing the dress.

Casey finally changed out of the dress and went to the counter to purchase it right away. The dress ended up costing a little more than Casey was planning to spend, but she had decided that the gorgeous outfit was worth it. Emily had found a super-cute pink dress at the next store they went to, and so all that was left to buy were the accessories!

Casey and Emily ran into Claire's and found some gorgeous jewelry. Casey found some long black gloves and some dark silver bracelets. She found a matching loose choker necklace, and a cute little tiara! Emily grabbed some simple rings and bracelets, and the girls purchased their items at the check-out counter before leaving the mall.

The girls ran out to the "Schlepper Mobile," satisfied that they had found the most beautiful costumes for the masquerade dance.


	8. Emily or Derek?

**HEY GUYS! Gah, I am so sorry that it took me SO LONG to update this story. My vacation ran a lot longer than I thought it would, and then school started, and it's all a mess. But it's okay, because I managed to find time to write this and get it up! And it's the longest chapter yet, so hopefully that will make up for everything (:**

**Okay, so this chapter involves a little flashback, which will be in italics. And Casey and Emily's little messages to each other will be in bold. I think that's pretty much it! I hope to get the masquerade dance up in the next couple chapters, so that's something to look forward to! Hahah.**

**Disclaimer: Uh, I just realized that I haven't put one of these up before. But I don't own anything. So...yeah.**

**Chapter 8: Emily or Derek?**

The next day at school seemed like the longest Friday in history. Casey, along with most of her school's female population, was so eager to rush home to put the finishing touches on her masquerade costume. With the thoughts of the dance filling her mind, Casey tuned out her monotone Psychology teacher's lecture and drifted off into her own world. She was rudely awakened by the feeling of someone tapping on her shoulder. Casey turned to see the boy next to her secretly slipping her a piece of paper. Before unfolding it, Casey looked around the room to try and identify who snapped her out of her thoughts. She was quickly met with the eyes of her best friend. Casey rolled her eyes. She should have known that Emily would be the one passing notes. Casey carefully opened the slip of paper.

**Case, are you sure that you don't want to come over after school? I could do your make-up! Ooh—we could make it like a spa day! Okay, you HAVE to come over now. I've got so many ideas!**

Casey smiled to herself as she began to write her response. Casey had gone over to Emily's house almost every day that week, but she had decided to go spend some time at home that night. Although, that spa idea didn't sound half bad…

She quickly wrote a message to Emily and passed the note back to the boy next to her. She watched as the little slip of paper went from student to student until it suddenly stopped… at the desk _behind_ Emily's.

Casey stared at her note sitting in the hands of someone that it did not belong to. She followed the stranger's muscular arms up to his face and… her eyes widened. There was Derek, with that annoying smirk on his face. Casey rolled her eyes as she watched him unfold the note and read its contents. And then… his face fell and he threw the note up to Emily.

What? Did Derek actually look… disappointed at her response? What was going on with him lately? Casey didn't have much time to think about that, however, because Emily was already passing the note back to her.

* * *

Derek tapped his foot impatiently as he looked at the clock for probably the hundredth time that class period. He couldn't wait for school to be over so that he could get home. Actually, it wasn't exactly getting to his house that Derek was excited about. It was the ride to his home that Derek was looking forward to. Finally, Casey was riding home with him again!

For the past few days, Emily and Sheldon had come to pick Casey up for school every morning. And she had been going home with Emily directly after school, leaving Derek to drive alone. Apparently, Casey and Emily needed to spend as much time as possible with each other to plan the perfect dance night. Derek had hardly spent any time with Casey over the last few days, and he couldn't take it anymore. So, when she told him at breakfast that she'd need a ride home that afternoon, he could hardly contain his excitement.

_Derek ran his hand through his hair as he searched the kitchen cupboard for his cereal. He quickly found _his_ box of Honey-Nut Cheerios and poured himself a bowl. As he was getting up to grab the carton of milk, Edwin and Lizzie dashed into the kitchen. Lizzie grabbed two bowls for them, while Edwin searched the cupboards. "Aw man," Derek heard his brother sigh. "We're out of Fruit Loops." Derek raised the spoon to his mouth when he saw Edwin grabbing the Cheerios box out of the corner of his eye._

"_Just what do you think you're doing?" he asked menacingly. _

"_Look bro, I need some breakfast. And there's no way I'm eating dad's Raisin Bran. Yuck." Edwin replied. _

_Derek snorted and said, "So you really think that I'm going to let you eat my Cheerios? MY Cheerios!?"_

"_Uh, no. My bad, Derek." Edwin quickly apologized and began looking for other boxes of cereal. Lizzie sighed and poured a bowl of Frosted Mini Wheats. It was Casey's cereal, but Lizzie knew that her older sister wouldn't mind. She put the box back and began to chow down. Edwin eventually settled on stealing the rest of the Mini Wheats, and he and Lizzie began discussing their upcoming field trip. A few minutes later, Casey emerged from the bathroom and began her descent down the stairs._

_Derek looked up to see Casey making her way to the cupboard to find some cereal and he couldn't help but stare as she stood on her toes to reach up to the top shelf. Her cute little jeans hugged her every curve perfectly. Casey grabbed the cereal box and turned to look at him. She gave a knowing smile and Derek quickly looked down at his empty cereal bowl. He heard Casey sigh and say, "Who ate all my cereal?"_

_Lizzie looked up. "Oh, sorry Case. I couldn't find the Fruit Loops and…"_

"_It's okay Liz," Casey interrupted. "I'll just steal some of George's Raisin Bran…" She was about to reach for the cereal bowl when she heard Derek clear his throat._

_Casey turned to look at him, and he said, "You can eat some of mine… If you want…" Casey's eyes widened, and Lizzie and Edwin stopped eating and shared her shocked expression. "What?" Derek asked. "It's my fault that you two ate all of Casey's cereal. It's only fair."_

"_Since when do you do what's fair?" Casey asked._

_Derek only smirked at her. "Well, if you don't want it…"_

"_Oh no," Casey started, "I want it." She grabbed Derek's Cheerios and began eating. As Derek got up to leave, he heard Casey call out to him. "By the way," she stated, "I don't think I'll be going to Emily's after school today. So, would it be okay if I got a ride from you? Sorry. I mean, I'll still be getting a ride from Sheldon this morning, but not after school. Actually, I can just get a ride home from Sheldon again. He is bringing Emily home, and she does live right next door… That way I don't have to bother you…"_

"_NO!" Derek interrupted. Casey looked at him awkwardly. "I mean, uh, it's okay,__"__ Derek covered. "I can drive you home. It's uh, no big deal." Casey managed to see Derek's face break out into a smile as he was turning away. She thought nothing of it and finished up her breakfast._

_Lizzie glanced over at Edwin, who seemed to be just as confused by their older siblings' display._

Derek was snapped out of his flashback when Emily passed him a note. He quickly threw the note to the desk behind him and watched as it traveled through the hands of people he didn't care about until it landed in the soft hands of the person he couldn't stop thinking about. He watched a smile spread over Casey's beautiful face as she read the message and felt a smile grace his features as well. He quickly put on his best "I don't care about anything" face and watched as Casey discreetly wrote her response on the piece of paper. When the note was eventually passed back to him, Derek couldn't help opening the secret message to see what was inside. He wanted to know what Casey was talking about, and he knew that reading the note would annoy her. And Casey looked so cute when she was mad. "Okay, I've got to stop thinking like this…" Derek muttered to himself as he unfolded the slip of paper…

**Case, are you sure that you don't want to come over after school? I could do your make-up! Ooh—we could make it like a spa day! Okay, you HAVE to come over now. I've got so many ideas!**

_**Sounds fun. Are you sure that you want me to come over **__**again**__**?**_

Derek's heart sank. _"Casey was leaving again?"_ he thought as he felt his "I hate the world" look on his face be replaced with a look of sadness. He glanced over at Casey and saw her look of confusion staring right back at him. Derek quickly left Casey's wondering eyes and tried to wipe the depression off of his face. He shoved the note into a waiting Emily's hand and went back to staring at the clock. A few seconds later he saw a little piece of paper flutter onto his desk. Derek contemplated just taking the note and never passing it to Casey, but he decided against it and passed the note to the person behind him.

* * *

Casey shook her head and passed Derek's strange look off as another one of Derek's weird quirks. She could never even begin to understand him. A small tap on her shoulder interrupted Casey's thoughts once again, and she took the note from her classmate's hands and began to read Emily's latest response.

**Oh yeah Case, it's totally fine! You know how much my family loves you. EEE, I'm so excited! Sheldon offered to drive us home again, so we can get right down to business. **

Casey was just about to write _"I'll definitely be there. I'm excited!"_ but then she thought about Derek. He looked genuinely sad that she was contemplating going home with Emily, and she had to figure out why. Casey quickly jotted a note to Emily and tried to focus on the class.

* * *

Derek saw Casey and Emily's note making its way back to him. He grabbed the note and quickly unfolded it, jumping straight to the part that he had not read.

**Oh yeah Case, it's totally fine! You know how much my family loves you. EEE, I'm so excited! Sheldon offered to drive us home again, so we can get right down to business.**

_**You know what, Em? I think I'm gonna have to take a rain check. My mom and George wanted me to do some stuff at home after school. But maybe I can come over later tonight and we could do the whole make-up and hair thing! I'm really sorry…**_

Derek couldn't help but smile as he passed the note up to Emily. Derek heard her sigh, but he didn't care. He looked over at Casey, and saw her puzzled eyes staring him down. He gave her the traditional "cool guy" head nod, and turned to look at the board.


End file.
